All-Source Intelligence Fusion

I almost feel bad writing this story, as this is the second time I have reported on recordings of Scott Tuma, the Director of Internet Solutions at wiretapping contractor PenLink. The first time was February of last year, when I attended his session at the National Sheriffs’ Association, where he discussed how his company helps police conduct search warrants for Google search histories and GPS location data, as well as how warrants for Apple iCloud backups often provide “phenomenal” access to conversations conducted on end-to-end encrypted messaging applications such as WhatsApp. Perhaps the most bizarre segment was a sheriff in the audience lamenting having flown a drone over an empty field as a result of inaccurate location data obtained through the Sirius XM radio subscription in their target’s truck.

(At the same conference I accidentally caught police on tape pitching Taser manufacturer Axon on how to bribe then head of Rhode Island State Police, Jimmy Manni, through free trips to a hunting farm run by former Patriots offensive tackle Matt Light; the governor announced Manni’s retirement the next month. Separately, another former police officer was caught on video joking about bikinis clogging the quasi-Disney-related police surveillance robot he was pitching — as well as how police would likely roll them into the women’s locker rooms.)

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